ITP Glossary: 13 Offensive Personnel

Football is littered with specialized terminology. From trips to press man, commentators rarely get to explain everything you need to know before the next play. Inside The Pylon’s glossary was developed to give fans a deeper understanding of the game through clear explanations, as well as image and video examples. Please contact us with any terms or phrases you’d like to know more about.

13 Offensive Personnel

13 offensive personnel is a heavy – or “jumbo” grouping with one running back, one wide receiver and three tight ends. This personnel group is primarily used in the red zone or in short-yardage and goal line situations, giving the offense three tight ends to use either as run blockers or as big targets on smaller defenders in the secondary.

On this first play, the Chiefs line up with three tight ends to the right of the formation, with two of them running post routes. Kelce is on the outside, and angles his post route first to the boundary, then back towards the inside of the field, which isolates him against Houston Texans cornerback Kareem Jackson:

Of course, the bigger bodies on the field allow for some power running plays. On this play from the 2015 Divisional Round, the Indianapolis Colts get their ground game working against the Denver Broncos using 13 personnel:

The offense puts Andrew Luck under center and uses a bunch formation on the left with the three TEs. Then the Colts run a toss play to that side of the field, with Dan Herron coming behind the three big bodies:

Mark is a reformed lawyer who is excited to work on something more important than two insurance companies fighting over money: Football. He graduated from Wesleyan University where he was a four-year letter winner as a quarterback and situational wide receiver. He lives in Maryland with his wife and two children.